In Chapter One, the authors establish the context for the remainder of the book and set forth three basic themes they believe underlay today's business world. In doing so, they contend that "'business as usual" is a bankrupt concept" (Bruner, et al., 1998, p. 3). They assert that these themes reflect several fundamental changes have taken place which affect business and society as a whole. The first theme is the "new competition," a new business paradigm affecting business enterprise. The second theme is the shift to a knowledge-based society and the development of the intelligent enterprise. The third theme is the rise of business "ecosystems" or cooperative constellations of firms (Bruner, et al., 1998, pp. 3-4).
The idea of there being a new competition is based upon the belief that continuous improvement will be driven by the entrepreneurial firm. The authors state that there are four dimensions to the new competition: (1) the firm, (2) the production chain, (3) the sector, and (4) the government. The firm is now defined as an entrepreneurial company, rather than a bureaucratic hierarchy. The production chain now includes cooperation between otherwise independent companies to conduct value-adding activities. This in turn has made the business sector the focal point of discussion. Finally, the new competition has refocused government antitrust policies on international trade (Bruner, et al., 1998, pp. 4-8).
The theme of the intelligent enterprise reflects the fact that basic power relationships have shifted from those who produce to those who control information. As a result, organizations have become flatter as information exchange becomes most important. This leads to the third theme: the rise of business ecosystems. Companies which may compete in one part of the market cooperate in other parts in order to promote innovation (Bruner, et al. 1998, pp. 8-10).
In this chapter, the authors present the need for pr...